Paraglider killed in crash lost control

A paraglider who died in a crash on Mount Herman near Monument on Friday may have lost control amid shifting winds, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said.

The victim's name was not released.

Hikers in the area saw the paraglider go down against the mountain's eastern face about 1:40 p.m., El Paso County sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Jeannette Whitney said.

A medical helicopter arrived about 2:30 p.m., and medics pronounced the man dead, Whitney said.

Mount Herman is in the Pike National Forest.

Rescue crews came to the aid of downed paragliders two other times in the past three years, but neither of those were fatal, said Teresa Burgess, a spokeswoman for El Paso County Search and Rescue.